I thought I would start a build thread of my Jeep with soon to be equipped modified Ursa Minor J30. For those of you following Dan Grec on here and over at TheRoadChoseMe.com you know that he had his J30 modified to allow more of an open stand up space similar to westfalia configurations. After coming across Ursa Minors J30 a few years ago I fell in love with the setup and knew I had to have on eventually. Well March 1st of this year I pulled the trigger on one. Shortly after ordering my J30 I started religiously follow Dan and his travels and then decided I had to have the same modification done to my J30. I like the idea of not having to squeeze through the two small hatches to get up into the sleeping area. I recently got a hold of John over at Ursa Minor and expressed my wishes to him. Thankfully due to the manufacture time I they had not started my build yet. John was more than happy to accommodate my wishes and modify my order to the "Road Chose Me Edition."
The only requirement to allow this type of space in a Jeep is to modify the roll cage essentially removing the rear crossbar and going straight back and removing the fastback type bend in the roll cage. I do not trust my welding skills for this type of modification. The only other issue I had with this is we sometimes like to go topless in the summer and I liked the factory fastback look of the roll cage. After examining the roll cage more closely I came up with a way to allow the open space of the J30 with no welding and to minimize the potential of substantially weakening the roll cage. I set out and removed the back seats and carpeting to start my ultimate camping setup.
The goal here is to remove the rear cross bar in this picture. Turns out the cross bar is actually only bolted down to the factory roll cage. The brackets on top are welded to the actual cross member and the bottom brackets (highlighted in red) are welded to the factory roll cage tubing.
Closer view of the bracket we will need to cut out so they are not protruding into the open area of the J30
You an see in this picture the cross bar has been unbolted from the roll cage leaving the two lower brackets that are welded to the roll cage tubing. These lower brackets will need to be removed for the modified J30 install.
Cutting the brackets off with a cut off wheel. I had my father do this as I could not bring myself to do it....
Removed lower bracket...
result
After removing these two brackets I put some primer over the area to prepare for paint match...
The next step will be to install a RockHard 4x4 third row cage bar to add the structural integrity back to the roll cage. This setup will allow the modified J30 to be mounted on the Jeep with space to stand up and walk in.
The only requirement to allow this type of space in a Jeep is to modify the roll cage essentially removing the rear crossbar and going straight back and removing the fastback type bend in the roll cage. I do not trust my welding skills for this type of modification. The only other issue I had with this is we sometimes like to go topless in the summer and I liked the factory fastback look of the roll cage. After examining the roll cage more closely I came up with a way to allow the open space of the J30 with no welding and to minimize the potential of substantially weakening the roll cage. I set out and removed the back seats and carpeting to start my ultimate camping setup.
The goal here is to remove the rear cross bar in this picture. Turns out the cross bar is actually only bolted down to the factory roll cage. The brackets on top are welded to the actual cross member and the bottom brackets (highlighted in red) are welded to the factory roll cage tubing.
Closer view of the bracket we will need to cut out so they are not protruding into the open area of the J30
You an see in this picture the cross bar has been unbolted from the roll cage leaving the two lower brackets that are welded to the roll cage tubing. These lower brackets will need to be removed for the modified J30 install.
Cutting the brackets off with a cut off wheel. I had my father do this as I could not bring myself to do it....
Removed lower bracket...
result
After removing these two brackets I put some primer over the area to prepare for paint match...
The next step will be to install a RockHard 4x4 third row cage bar to add the structural integrity back to the roll cage. This setup will allow the modified J30 to be mounted on the Jeep with space to stand up and walk in.
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The dynamat arrived in the mail yesterday so I was able to get that in the rear of the Jeep. I also roughed out the floor for the back area. I used cardboard to make a template then transferred it onto the wood. Still have a lot of sanding to go and then get it finished. Haven't decided how I am going to have it finished yet.
